political

Spirit Of Freedom

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2013-03-07 SpiritOfFreedom+

This is a 2011 mural in the Bogside of Derry/Doıre featuring republican hunger-strikers (the ten who died in the Maze, along with Frank Stagg and Michael Gaughan, who died in English prisons in the 70s), along with an oak leaf symbolizing the city of Derry. Chains, rather than a Celtic knot-work, serve as a frame for the main mural.

A close-up of the piece to the left, which “is dedicated to all those who tragically died on the streets of Derry during the hunger strike era” and features head-shots of various Óglaıgh Na hÉıreann volunteers, can be found below.

2013-03-07 SpiritOfFreedomLeft+

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X00999 X01000 our revenge will be the laughter of our children baınfear ár ndíoltas amach leıs an gháıre dár bpáıstí 1st battalion doıre brigade 3rd october 2006 suaımhneas dé dá n-anamacha, in fond and loving memory of those who died for the cause for ireland’s freedom. bogside and brandywell memorial committee

Living Like Animals

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2013-04-22 LiveLikeAnimal+

A third piece of Thatcher-related graffiti (one | two), this time in the loyalist Tiger’s Bay area: “If Mr. Sands wants to act like an animal, he can live like one.” Although it is attributed to Mrs. Thatcher here, there does not appear to be any reputable source for the quote. Thatcher’s funeral is tomorrow, Wednesday 17th.

Note the freshly painted kerb stones. Eithne House, one of the New Lodge tower blocks, can be seen in the background of the picture, with a board to hunger-striker Patsy O’Hara on the left-hand side.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Breaking The Boom

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2013-02-14 BreakingBoom+

The mural of the Mountjoy, taking part in the Breaking of the Boom that ended the Siege of Derry in 1689, has seen better days, in part because of the replacement of the original two-line street sign with a modern single-line one which does not fit into the mural.

Roulston Avenue, Waterside, Londonderry.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Rust In Peace

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2013-04-09 RustInPeace+

Here is another piece of graffiti in response to the death of Margaret Thatcher, outside the Royal Victoria hospital on the Falls Road: “Iron Lady? Rust In Peace”, with “Upara” – Up The (I)RA. Thatcher was given the sobriquet by the Soviet army newspaper Red Starin 1976, apparently in imitation of the “Iron Chancellor”, Otto von Bismarck (WP).

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Rot In Hell, Thatcher

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2013-04-09 RotInHell+

Reaction to the death (on Monday, April 8th) of Margaret Thatcher, U.K. Prime Minister 1979-1990 (WP), in an alley below Divis flats, between Divis Street and Clonfaddan Crescent.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Those Who Can Endure The Most

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A tarp has been added to the Ardoyne memorial garden (seen previously in 2008) putting the 12 deceased hunger strikers from the modern Troubles alongside those who were executed for their part in the Easter Rising.

Berwick Road, Ardoyne, Belfast

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Bridge Street

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2013-02-25 PortadownBridge+

New union flags fly on Bridge Street as it crosses the river Bann in Portadown, looking towards the northeast.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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33 Lecky Road

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2013-03-07 FreeDerry+

“You are now entering Free Derry” – Free Derry Corner with The Petrol Bomber and Bernadette murals in the background.

For a Visual History of the gable, see Free Derry Corner.

(A copy (in Belfast) of one of the flyers on the side of the wall in the first image above can be seen in End Impunity.)

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Under Siege

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13 02 07 UnderSeige1LargeCrop+

“Londonderry West Bank Loyalists Still Under Siege. No Surrender.”

Two images of a mural/lettering in the Fountain area on London-/Derry/Doire’s west bank of the Foyle – the larger Unionist population is in the Waterside on the east side of the river – taken through a hole in the walls of old city of Derry.

2013-02-07 UnderSeige2+

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Bobby Sands Corner

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Bobby Sands grew up and went to school in Rathcoole but in 1972, when he was eighteen, the family home was attacked. They moved to Twinbrook, where Sands joined the IRA (Bobby Sands Trust | WP).

This mosaic is near the Twinbrook home, on the same wall that was the site of the Carol-Ann Kelly mural. Kelly was killed two weeks after Sands’s death.

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Copyright © 2013 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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